


We Were Just Children With Our Eyes Opening

by m4jor3tt3



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff, Kind of implied Poe/Finn/Rey, M/M, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 14:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5500109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m4jor3tt3/pseuds/m4jor3tt3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finn loves to hold hands. Poe loves it, too. Rey wants to throw up. (Title from Oscar Isaac's song "Never Had.")</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Were Just Children With Our Eyes Opening

Finn had a habit of grabbing people's hands.

Poe first noticed it when he found Finn again on D'Qar. Being an affectionate person by nature and having taken to Finn fairly quickly when they first met, Pie's first instinct was to throw his arms around the other man the minute he was close enough. However, once he pulled back, Finn had grabbed Poe's hands. Poe hadn't said anything, but had looked down at the large strong hands wrapped around his own; Finn noticed how Poe's gaze had dropped briefly, and immediately let go (if Poe had been smart, he would've taken his hands again to let him know it was okay.)

He noticed again when he spotted him and Rey down on Starkiller from his ship- Finn grabbed Rey's hand without even thinking and began to sprint into the forest. For as little time as he'd known Rey, Poe knew they she could hold her own and had no reason to have her hand held to get away from danger, but she made no move to pull away.

A third time when Finn jolted awake after being brought in after Starkiller base was gone, gasping for air and reaching for anyone close enough- that anyone just happened to be Poe, who had been practically glued to his bedside while he had been out cold. Finn was hyperventilating, asking a million questions at once, all while wincing and writhing in pain from his back injury, and Poe shushed him gently, somewhat surprised when Finn's hand flung out and wrapped around Poe's, clammy from exhaustion and pain killers.

It's not that Poe minded. His grandfather had always been a touchy person, taking every chance he got to pull a young Poe onto his lap to tell him a story, or wind his arms around him in a tight hug, or even hoisting him up onto his shoulders before his arthritis began to set in. When his parents reunited with him and the family fled to Yavin IV, his father came with plenty of friendly shoulder squeezes and pats on the back, and his mother always kissed his bumps and bruises and lifted him into backbreaking hugs when he began to get the hang of flying. The almost constant stream of touches began to break after Poe's mother passed away, but he could often count on his father to pat his shoulder or give his arm an affectionate squeeze or ruffle his curls.

An engineer he met when he was a teenager and had gotten into the whole pod racing craze that came to Yavin IV had briefly stolen his heart, having been the man who fixed up a cheap speeder for Poe free of charge, and then the only person who congratulated him on placing third in his first race (unbeknownst to his father, who didn't want him flying in the first place.) They were together briefly, meeting each other in a local garage under cover of darkness, exchanging gentle kisses and gentler breaths. It was the only tenderness Poe had experienced in his youth, as he tried to keep his preference for men to himself- not that anyone would particularly mind, but you couldn't be too careful- but he wouldn't forget the way those rough, calloused hands made his skin tingle and every whispered word made his breath catch in his throat. He suspected the engineer didn't remember him, however- after the desire for pod racing diminished on Yavin IV and moved elsewhere, it wasn't necessary for him to stay on planet, and he hitched a ride with the more successful racers to make their way toward brighter prospects.

In any case, it wasn't surprising that Poe seemed to be affectionate toward just about everyone. Everyone at the Resistance base could tell you about Poe's echoing laugh, how his smile threatened to shatter his face, how his hands always found the shoulders and arms of whoever happened to be near him. What was surprising, however, was how Poe always seemed to be caught off guard when someone touched him. It wasn't as though his family had ever instilled in him that being touched was something to avoid, as they had always been very loving, but when someone returned his actions of affection- threw a friendly arm around his shoulders, mussed his hair- he seemed to draw back ever so slightly, his eyes widened.

You could guess how Poe reacted when he found out Finn was a chronic hand holder.

When Poe went with Finn to physical therapy, Finn's hand often found Poe's for support- but only briefly, as Finn would always notice when Poe's shoulders would tighten and his eyes go big. When they walked together through the garage and Poe would excitedly point out each individual ship and tell a short story about them and grab and punch at Finn's shoulder whenever he started a new tangent, Finn's fingers would gently brush the back of Poe's hand, but he would withdraw the second Poe looked up and made eye contact with him. There were other instances of contact that Poe would flinch at- when he took Finn out for his first speeder ride, and Finn's arms wound around Poe's waist, his hold instantly loosened when he felt Poe become tense against him, or when Finn's head drooped down onto Poe's shoulder one warm evening the two of them were sitting together outside, a book in Poe's lap while he read quietly to Finn, but mostly to himself, and Poe had jumped back to look back at him before Finn pulled his knees up to his chest, cleared his throat and occupied himself with cleaning his fingernails.

Poe got used to it, after a bit. It became almost customary. When Finn was finishing up his physical therapy, congratulatory high fives lingered and became affectionate squeezes, accompanied with prolonged but tender eye contact, and the night before a recon mission Poe couldn't seem to get away from Finn- not that he was complaining, he was great company and if Poe left without saying goodbye and something happened, he would never forgive himself, and also those nights often ended with Finn asleep in Poe's bed, and Poe could never be unhappy with that. He got so used to it, in fact, on the off chance Finn didn't try to grab his hand, he went through the day wondering if he'd done something wrong, or upset him somehow, and then he'd try his damn neat hardest to make him smile because his laugh had become one of his favorite sounds. 

*****

When Rey came back after about three months, she came with Luke Skywalker, and Poe just about talked his ear off about his piloting skills (and maybe asking for a few stories about Wedge, which Luke happily supplied) while Finn and Rey caught up. When the three of them sat together after Finn's physical therapy and Rey's training, Finn's hands were either near Rey's or Poe's, but something in Poe's chest tightened a bit whenever it was Rey's and not his. It wasn't that he didn't like Rey- she was witty, kind, and a hell of a pilot, the two of them would sometimes take each other for flights to show off, or have pod races during boring and empty afternoons. Finn would usually accompany them on these trips, mostly as an eye witness to whoever won the race (he always claimed he couldn't tell and told the two of them that it might as well have been a tie, and his soft laughter while he said that always reddened Poe's ears.) They would usually being stolen snacks from breakfast or lunch and have picnics out in the woods afterwards, basking in the late afternoon glow and talking about nothing.

One day, however, Finn didn't go with Rey and Poe, having been asked to accompany a group of ground fighters to hopefully train him in sharpshooting (not that he'd really need much training) but the two of them still packed a lunch and snuck out to the garage after Rey's training session with Luke, and after a small spat about who exactly won the race (they ultimately decided it was Rey, mostly because Poe didn't want to get on the up and coming Jedi's bad side) they found a soft and quiet spot they could relax in.

"How's Luke as a teacher?" Poe asked through a mouthful of instant bread, leaning back on his elbows with one knee propped up, hair slick with sweat and pushed back away from his forehead. Rey shrugged, picking apart a nutri-bar with mild distaste. "He's kind of a hard ass, to be honest. Makes me wake up at 0900 just to meditate and do fifty push-ups..." She said, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward fondly. Poe barked out a laugh, crumbs of bread flying into his lap. Rey groaned with disgust, a sound that turned quickly into a giggle as she playfully shoved Poe's shoulder. "He's a good guy, though. I couldn't ask for a better teacher."

"I'll have to steal him one day to see if he's still got that rebel pilot in him. Sure he could teach me a thing or two."

"Hey, you're a fine enough pilot as is, get your own pilot turned Jedi master."

The two shared a long laugh, the sound fading out slowly and ultimately ending with content sighs. It was quiet for a moment, the sound of the woods surrounding them as Rey leaned back to lie down in the soft grass, folding her hands behind her head and letting the sun warm her face. "So, how do you find Finn?"

Poe's eyes widened, and he swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"You look at him like the sun shines out his ass."

Poe sputtered, sitting up and turning to face Rey with his hands in his lap. "What makes you think that? If anything, I should be telling you that. Before you left to find Luke, you were always in the infirmary with him..."

"Because he's my friend," Rey said without opening her eyes, but her comment went unnoticed.

"A-and I always catch you two holding hands when you go for your walks or whatever..."

"He just likes holding hands, really, I still yell at him about it sometimes."

"And you'll look at each other like you're the only two people in the world..."

"In case you might've forgotten, he did save my life that one time."

"And you two are always whispering and laughing-"

"Most of the time, we're talking about you."

"And-"

" _Poe_!"

Poe stopped, looking up at Rey, who had sat up and slapped her hands down onto Poe's shoulders. Poe's face had steadily gotten warmer the more he talked about Rey and Finn, and he was just now registering how hot and embarrassed he felt right now, but Rey seemed unfazed. She simply took a deep breath, then placed her hands delicately on Poe's face. "Just talk to him, okay?" She said breathlessly, shoulders slumping. Poe nodded slightly after a moment, and Rey grinned, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his cheek. She laid back down, hands behind her head once more as a quiet laugh escaped her.

*****

"How long will you be gone?"

"General Organa said two weeks tops."

"That's a long time."

"Yeah."

It was late one night, and Poe was leaving for a mission that coming morning. Both he and Finn were sitting on Finn's bed, Finn's head on his shoulder and his hand wrapped around Poe's fingers loosely. The stars were out, and the window in Poe's dorm was open, the cool night air filling the room. Finn sighed, running his thumb gently over the back of Poe's hand. Poe had knots in his stomach the size of planets that grew bigger with ever swipe of Poe's finger. He bit his lip, looking down at him briefly. He opened his mouth to say something, but Finn spoke before him.

"I'm gonna miss you."

Poe swallowed. "Yeah," he said softly. "I'll miss you, too."

They were quiet for a moment. Poe licked his lips, looked down at their hands. After what seemed like forever, Finn yawned and sat up, releasing Poe's hand to stretch his arms above his head. "I didn't even realize how late it got," he laughed softly, turning to face Poe, who was looking at him with a dumbstruck expression. "Should probably get some sleep. Don't want you piloting when you're-"

Poe quickly took Finn's face in his hands, pulling him close to press a soft kiss to his lips. They stayed like that, silent, unmoving, for a bit; one of Poe's hands fell to rest on the side of Finn's neck, while Finn's hands went to Poe's waist. When he finally pulled away, Poe blinked slowly, face flushed and his eyes still trained on Finn's lips for a brief second before he met his eyes again. They looked at each other, Finn's mouth slightly open, Poe's eyes nervous. "Sorry, what were you saying?" Poe asked quietly after a moment, his hands still on Finn's cheek and neck.

"I... I said you shouldn't fly when you're tired," Finn replied in a whisper. Poe nodded, humming before finally pulling his hands back. "You're... you're probably right," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair before smoothing that hand over the pillow at the head of the bed.

"Well?"

Poe looked back at Finn, who was unlacing and pulling off his boots, setting them down at the foot of the bed before lying back and making himself comfortable. Poe's brow furrowed slightly, and then Finn smiled softly, patting the space beside him. "Get some sleep, then."

Poe's face flushed, but he smiled anyway, then removed his shoes and laid down beside Finn, who almost instinctively wound his arms around him and pulled him close. Poe bit his lip softly, and hesitantly found Finn's hand, threading his thin fingers through Finn's thicker ones. He couldn't help but grin when he felt Finn squeeze his hand, and Finn couldn't help but feel surprised when Poe relaxed against him and squeezed back.


End file.
